Remember folks, it is earmarked for your own " fishing haven". Can a boat qualify as a "fishing haven"? My definition of a "fishing haven" would be ___# of acres of Madison river front property just north of Ennis Montana.

This is true here in Montana, and the many who are saying you cannot step foot on "their river" laugh at $1.5 million like it was $.50! Lucky for us up here we still have our wonderful stream access law which is always debated every legislative session. Might not be here tomorrow, but at least we have it today.

Seriously? Wow, that makes me really sad. I'd take my 1.5 mil & buy whatever stream access it could buy and then give it to the sierra club/nature conservance/fly fishing anonymous or some other group that would manage it well and keep access open.

I would set I would buy a half million dollar ranch in russia, along a river like the upper Missouri, or the yellowstone around billings, or something like that. Try to manage it to only lose minimul money. Stock that thing with tons of youngins of those huge russian/mongolion/chinese 60 year lifespan trout. half million should buy a fair bit of ranch way out in the middle of no where. I am young, only 26, i could see those trout to almost maturation, and i would assure you it would of been worth the wait I wouldnt sell fishing trips to russia in my main river. I would however divert around between 400 CFS low flow during low flow and 1200 CFS during high flow into different streams of my making, turning them into blue ribbon trout water that only i fish, and stocking the 2 on oneside with yellowstone cutties and brookies, and the one larger stream on the otherside with browns and bows .

I would buy a half million dollar ranch somewhere in south america, this i bet i could make money off of not much, but maybe enough for airplain fee back and forth. For one i could sell fishing, because it wouldnt be trout, and there is no worry about the amount of fish in the amazon.

I would then maybe 300,000 dollars worth of land on the east gallatin(10 acres with maybe 200 yards of riverfront?, no house, and use the remaining 200,000 manage my other properties. With the cheap labor/materials i could buy in these countries i would take advantage and make sure that the bird hunting, big game hunting, and trout fishing were all very optimal conditions.
Then i could sell about fishing days and hunting trips each year, and run a ranch or farm, to hopefully pay all my workers/pay for me to live out of the country for half the year. Since i could advertise it as an american owned ranch in a foreign country maybe i could rip off rich people??

Seriously? Wow, that makes me really sad. I'd take my 1.5 mil & buy whatever stream access it could buy and then give it to the sierra club/nature conservance/fly fishing anonymous or some other group that would manage it well and keep access open.

that sounds all good in principle, but 1.5 mil isnt going to buy a whole lot of access in mt, probably only around 5-10 miles of access along whatever river you are going to want, if it is a decent stream. I am working on finishing school in chemical engineering, but i have been an "extended intern" for the last 2 years working as a civil engineer, and i have done a fair number of conservation easements, they are big money deals, the goverment can offer millions in tax breaks as well, but it doesnt matter to some of these land owners.

Another idea i would have for alot of money is if you had that much maybe you could start enough of a non profit orginization, use the 1.5 million to takeout a loan for around 10 million, use that 10 million and start buying a couple really cheap streams around your area, the ones that are completely trashed as hell. High mercury levels, and just buy the 100 feet around the stream on each side, if the stream is thrashed the landowner shouldnt mind, , you should be able to get alot of water, even if pristine montana we have "Butte" and the virginia city area as well, also i am sure there are other areas in the state. Then once you spend a couple million doing use the rest of your money to show your goverment you are serious in turning everything around into pristine waters and you are willing to spend 8 million of your own money to help even neighboring land owners improve their water, collect another 20 million or so from the goverment. Use 8.5 million of that to pay off your loans, then repair the river for another 10 million, but along with the goverment spending all that money the entire river is put under a perpetiual easement. Then you sell your land for a ton of money, and use it on yourself knowing that you made it helping open up alot of public river access.

that sounds all good in principle, but 1.5 mil isnt going to buy a whole lot of access in mt, probably only around 5-10 miles of access along whatever river you are going to want, if it is a decent stream. I am working on finishing school in chemical engineering, but i have been an "extended intern" for the last 2 years working as a civil engineer, and i have done a fair number of conservation easements, they are big money deals, the goverment can offer millions in tax breaks as well, but it doesnt matter to some of these land owners.

Another idea i would have for alot of money is if you had that much maybe you could start enough of a non profit orginization, use the 1.5 million to takeout a loan for around 10 million, use that 10 million and start buying a couple really cheap streams around your area, the ones that are completely trashed as hell. High mercury levels, and just buy the 100 feet around the stream on each side, if the stream is thrashed the landowner shouldnt mind, , you should be able to get alot of water, even if pristine montana we have "Butte" and the virginia city area as well, also i am sure there are other areas in the state. Then once you spend a couple million doing use the rest of your money to show your goverment you are serious in turning everything around into pristine waters and you are willing to spend 8 million of your own money to help even neighboring land owners improve their water, collect another 20 million or so from the goverment. Use 8.5 million of that to pay off your loans, then repair the river for another 10 million, but along with the goverment spending all that money the entire river is put under a perpetiual easement. Then you sell your land for a ton of money, and use it on yourself knowing that you made it helping open up alot of public river access.

SkiBum,
I'm not nearly as think as you stoned I am.
Or... You have cabin fever.

SkiBum,
I'm not nearly as think as you stoned I am.
Or... You have cabin fever.

That is quite an Agenda there, is a million-five gonna cover it.

i know 1.5 million is not nearly enough, and i always have typos in my posts on every site, i dont like that this site cuts off your editing, or else i would go back and edit my posts. But i have thought about ways to try to conserve/reclaim montana streams in the past. In fact I did the engineering on a project to help reclaim a stream and wetland area in wyoming.